Emergency Management (Quarantine Fees and Penalty) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (11:55): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

Mr President, this Bill makes three important changes to the Emergency Management Act 2004: firstly, to allow a fee to be charged to arrivals from interstate and overseas for their hotel quarantine, secondly to ensure the State Coordinator has the ability to ensure South Australians who fail to comply with a direction and refuse to attend a place of isolation can be charged with a fee for stay, and thirdly to incorporate the inclusion of a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment for those who have found to have breached a direction of the Coordinator. The Bill finally also makes a permanent change to the Emergency Management Act to ensure that no direction made under the Act may prohibit a person fleeing a domestic violence situation, or a family member supporting such person, may prohibit their access to South Australia.

Dealing first with the aspect of hotel quarantine, quarantining returning Australians from overseas for a period of 14 days has been a vital part of Australia's and South Australia's approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the current Emergency Management (Cross Border Travel No 9) (COVID-19) Direction 2020, all people arriving in South Australia from overseas must reside and remain at a place determined by an authorised officer for a period of 14 days.

All Australian jurisdictions currently enforce similar quarantine arrangements for overseas arrivals.

Australia's peak decision-making committee on health emergencies, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), has recently reinforced their advice that this measure is a key part of Australia's successful response to COVID-19. In a public statement on 26 June 2020, the AHPPC reaffirmed their recommendation that all international travellers continue to undertake 14 days quarantine at a supervised hotel.

Of more than 1,200 Australians who have arrived into South Australia from overseas, three have tested positive for COVID-19 from the Air India flight from Mumbai on 27 June 2020 and, from all the positive COVID-19 cases in South Australia, the vast majority have been acquired from overseas. This demonstrates the importance of a strong and sustainable quarantine process to reduce the spread of the virus into the South Australian community.

South Australians have demonstrated an incredible willingness to play their part in the state, national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I do acknowledge how challenging this has been and once again thank the people of South Australia for their efforts thus far. However, a global response pandemic is far from over, and South Australia must continue to play its part in the national effort to allow Australian citizens to return home. More than 77,000 Australian citizens have returned to Australia and been subject to quarantine measures since 28 March 2020.

As COVID-19 emerged, one million Australians were estimated to be living or travelling overseas, so it is anticipated that thousands more Australians will seek to return home over time. Victoria is currently not allowing international arrivals. New South Wales have a cap of 450 international arrivals a day, with a maximum of 50 per flight. Western Australia has a cap of 525 international arrivals per week, and other jurisdictions are looking at caps also. These interstate caps are likely to place an increased demand on South Australia to take additional arrivals.

The South Australian government currently has capacity for approximately 1,035 people in quarantine across three hotels, and the government covers all costs associated with this.

To date, South Australia has incurred approximately $3.5 million in costs to quarantine returning overseas travellers. Interstate, both Queensland and the Northern Territory charge individual fees to partially or fully cover the cost of their mandatory quarantine period. The Western Australian government and New South Wales have recently announced that they will be following suit.

Some jurisdictions are also beginning to utilise their supervised hotel quarantine program to manage arrivals from current COVID-19 hospitals in Australia. South Australia has a strong hotel program, and that has been well managed by SA Police and SA Health. It has been and continues to be an important element of the government's COVID-19 response strategy.

To ensure the ongoing sustainability of these arrangements, and to allow South Australia to continue to accept and quarantine those returning to this state, the Transition Committee has recommended that South Australia commence a charging regime based on a portion of the cost of the period of quarantine.

The Emergency Management (Quarantine Fees and Penalty) Amendment Bill 2020 amends the Emergency Management Act to allow for the charging of a fee to recover costs associated with providing quarantine services in relation to the emergency declared under that act.

Under the amendments, this power to determine a fee will be vested with the State Coordinator for the emergency or delegated to an assistant state coordinator. The bill provides for flexibility for who the fee will apply to, and this will be determined by the State Coordinator. Cabinet has agreed, pending a formal decision by the State Coordinator that Australians returning to South Australia from overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic should be asked to cover the cost of their 14-day hotel quarantine. This will ensure sustainable quarantine arrangements are in place going forward.

SA Health will coordinate the hotel quarantine scheme based on the following cost structure: one adult will be charged $3,000, additional adults $1,000 each, additional children $500 each, and a child under three no additional cost. These charges will apply for any international arrival who has entered hotel quarantine from 12.01am on Saturday 18 July 2020. This will not apply to travellers who purchased their tickets before 12pm on 13 July.

Waiver arrangements will be available for people currently in quarantine and for people experiencing financial hardship or vulnerability, and payment plans will be made available.

The Bill introduced here today supports a sustainable approach to maintaining South Australia's strong quarantine arrangements and ensures South Australia plays its part in the national effort to allow citizens to return home without increasing the risk in the community.

Beyond those arriving from interstate and overseas, the Bill makes allowance for the State Coordinator to require South Australians who have been required to isolate to pay a fee for hotel quarantine should they be directed to do so and disobey. This would be in a circumstance of a person who, for example, was required to isolate due to having COVID-19 and has chosen a completely inappropriate location to do so. Under the Government's proposal, these persons will also be required to make this payment as designated persons.

This Bill further seeks to keep South Australia, and South Australians, as safe as possible by ensuring that any person who breaches a direction will face up to two years' imprisonment, beyond the currently available monetary penalty, and of course the on-the-spot fines which have already been approved by this parliament. This would commence on the day of proclamation.

Finally, the Bill incorporates an amendment moved in the House of Assembly to make a permanent change to the Emergency Management Act. This amendment seeks to ensure that no direction made under the Act may prohibit a person fleeing a domestic violence situation, or a family member supporting such person, may prohibit their access to South Australia. In a practical sense, under our directions currently in force access can be granted to South Australia on compassionate grounds. This is already occurring at the boarders, on a case by case basis. I understand the willingness of Parliament to enshrine this proposal into legislation and will now be working with the State Coordinator and Public Health officials to ensure that directions made under the Act appropriately allow this consideration.

I thank the State Coordinator, the State Control Centre and Public Health for their continued work in ensuring our borders are secure and that South Australians are kept safe.

I commend the bill to the house and seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses without my reading it.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Commencement

The measure operates from assent, except section 5 which operates from 18 July 2020.

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Emergency Management Act 2004

4—Amendment of section 25—Powers of State Co-ordinator and authorised officers

This amendment provides that a direction or requirement under section 25 must not prohibit travel into or out of the State where the travel is for the purpose of escaping domestic violence or providing support to a family member who is experiencing domestic violence, or is otherwise reasonably necessary for the purpose of dealing with circumstances arising out of domestic violence. A direction may impose conditions on the travel.

5—Insertion of section 25AA

New section 25AA is proposed to be inserted:

25AA—Fees on designated arrivals during declared emergencies

The State Co-ordinator is authorised to require a liable person (which is defined to include a prescribed arrival (being a person who arrived in SA from the commencement of the section) and a designated person (being a person who refused or failed to comply with a direction or requirement to quarantine or isolate and who is directed to reside at a place determined by an authorised officer)) to pay a fee (determined by the State Co-ordinator by notice under the section) relating to their quarantine or isolation at a place in South Australia. A notice under the section can provide that it has effect from a date earlier than its publication. Delegation to an Assistant State Co-ordinator is provided for.

6—Amendment of section 28—Failure to comply with directions

Imprisonment for 2 years is added to the penalty provision in section 28(1).

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.